A four-part series published by the Greensboro News-Record focused on the impact of massive amounts of revenue on the operation of major college sports programs. By noting the impact of a recent academic scandal, the series cautioned about potential issues when “athletics programs cause their schools to sacrifice some of their scruples for a chance…
An article published by Diverse Issues in Higher Education discussed the current economic landscape impacting decisions by leaders at NCAA Division I colleges and universities to change athletic conference affiliations. The article considered research presented at the last meeting of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics as a framework to understand why institutions search for…
The athletic departments of most public colleges and universities competing in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports typically spend three to six times as much per athlete as their institutions spend to educate their students, according to a new report by the Delta Cost Project at American Institutes for Research (AIR). The report,…
The Birmingham News reported that NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision schools will each receive $300,000 annually from the new playoff format if its football team’s Academic Progress Rate score is at least 930. According to the NCAA, a 930 score indicates that the team is on track to graduate 50 percent of its players. The academic…
The New York Times reported on recent moves by colleges to spend millions to replace their football coaching staff — moves that will result in reduced funding to academics and other sport programs. The Times reported on the decision at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to cancel the $18 million transfer the athletics department had pledged…
Presidents and conference commissioners overseeing the new college football playoff announced a unanimous agreement to “share revenue, for the first time in college football history, based on academic performance as part of the funding formula.” USA Today reported that 10 percent of the total playoff revenue “will be tied to teams’ Academic Performance Rates (APR).…
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on comments by Tulane University President Scott Cowen regarding the need for collegiate athletic reform. Cowen recently served as an adviser on an Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges-issued report calling for enhanced board oversight of college athletics. “The Knight Commission did a survey of university presidents and…
MIAMI — (Oct. 18, 2012) – The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has honored former University of North Carolina president Bill Friday with a $25,000 contribution to a memorial fund in his name at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Friday, who died Oct. 12, was the founding co-chairman and inspiration…
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics met in Washington, D.C. to hear research reports from higher education experts and scholars that reaffirmed the need for different policy approaches and stronger board oversight in college sports.
Research findings highlighted the widening divide in college sports between the “haves” and “have-nots,” and its potential impact on institutional finances, student tuition and fees. The divide also reveals itself in votes on NCAA rules that impact athlete well-being, academic standards and “the collegiate model.”
The Washington Post recently reported about their interview with William Friday, co-founder of the Knight Commission and former President of the University System of North Carolina. “William Friday has seen the best and worst of college sports in a lifetime devoted to higher education. But at 92, he never thought he would live to see…